2024-09-27
Psalm 23:2 AMPC
When you find yourself saying, “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up,” you may need to change some of your priorities and adjust your lifestyle.
The psalmist said, “I am… wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14 KJV). God designed your body to give you warnings when you’re pushing too hard, like an ache here or a pain there. But we ignore these warnings until we become too sick to ignore them any longer. And because we live in the most medicated generation in history, we take prescriptions, pills, and potions hoping that’s the answer. But it’s a short-term cure.
We can’t ignore God’s direction to take time to rest and not pay a price for it. Nobody had a greater purpose or a more important mission than Jesus and His disciples. Yet He instructed them to take time out for rest and relaxation (See Mark 6:31). Pastor, is this an area of discipleship you need to practice and teach your people? The church should not keep people so busy that it negatively affects their health and hurts their family relationships.
If you are living an unsustainable life today, stop putting off making the changes you need to make. Don’t wait until something happens, like a health problem or a family problem. Make changes now to live the kind of life God wants you to live. When you live God’s way, you will discover a new level of peace in your life. “He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside still and restful waters.”
Soul food: 1 Cor 4-6; Luke 23:44-56; Ps 13; Prov 25:4-8
2024-09-26
Ecclesiastes 9:9 NKJV
It’s amazing how many of us are willing to invest time and effort into our education, career, and financial future, but not our marriage. One of the leading causes of divorce is boredom.
One minister explains: “Partners lose their focus, stray into affairs, get addicted to porn, or exhibit other destructive behavior… The secret to a strong marriage is to continue to find ways to improve yourself and to share. It can be as simple as reading a book or article and sharing something interesting about what you read, or taking a course and using what you learned at home… It can be learning about your partner’s career field and taking an interest in what they do all day, showing you are engaged with who they are…
Partners who want to keep growing as a couple also need to have lives of their own away from the marriage as well. Pursuing hobbies, interests, and appropriate friendships outside the marriage makes each partner more interesting and stimulating when they come back home. How wonderful to sit together at the dinner table and share exciting things you each discovered during the day.
There is a balancing act in developing your own life without ignoring the life you have together. The person you marry will be around for a very long time if you do things right. Long after physical attraction and the intensity of sexual chemistry have faded, and the kids are grown and living on their own, you and your partner will want strong connections so you can continue to grow and enjoy life together.”
So, invest in your marriage.
Soul food: 1 Cor 1-3; Luke 23:35-43; Ps 54; Prov 25:1-3
2024-09-25
Ephesians 1:4 AMPC
Nothing about you surprises God. He knew what He was getting when He chose you. He “actually picked us out for Himself as His own.” You didn’t just randomly show up one day. And God hasn’t decided to merely tolerate you. He is not rolling His eyes when you have a problem. Instead, He will always remind you how far you have come, how well you are doing, how precious you are in His sight, and how much He loves you. God already knew your weaknesses, every flaw you would have, and every time you would fail, yet He still said, “I want you.”
Ephesians 1:5 says that God “adopted” you as His own. He is your father, and you are His family. Yes, He will discipline you when you need it, but He will never discard you. And with Him on your side, things are bound to work out all right in the end.
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son” (vv. 3-6 NLT).
Soul food: Zech 12-14; Luke 23:26-34; Ps 52; Prov 24:32-34
2024-09-24
Proverbs 3:13 NIV
The wise old adage goes, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Sometimes what people need more than your money is your wisdom. By taking the time to share with them the insights and wisdom you have learned through your life’s experiences, you’re investing in their future. What a gift!
But that means you must never stop learning. Sometimes we stop learning because we become complacent. We believe we have grown enough, or we want only to make the most of what we already have in terms of skill and knowledge. That’s when we start to plateau and then decline. We lose our innovative spirit. We begin to think about being efficient instead of breaking new ground. We cut costs instead of investing in growth. Our vision becomes very limited. And instead of playing to win, we start playing not to lose.
We all love doing what we’re good at, but being good at something requires us to keep our skills sharp. Less skill leads to less enthusiasm and eventually to discontent. If we reach this stage, we start looking behind us because that’s where our best days are. We think about the good old days, the glory days. At that point, we’re only a few short steps from obsolescence.
Nobody wants to learn from a has-been. If you want to give until you have given all you have, you must keep growing until you can grow no more. “Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding.”
Soul food: Zech 9-11; Luke 23:13-25; Ps 34; Prov 24:29-31
2024-09-23
Philemon 1:6 ERV
If you’re struggling with self-worth, the answer is knowing what you have and who you are “in Christ.” Paul writes, “I pray that… you understand every blessing we have in Christ.” Here are some practical steps you can take to increase your sense of confidence and self-worth:
(1) Don’t speak negatively about yourself. Instead of focusing on your weaknesses and flaws, start acknowledging and verbalizing every good thing you “have in Christ.” Peter writes: “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him… he has given us great and precious promises. These… promises… enable you to share his divine nature” (2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT).
(2) Avoid comparing yourself to others. One day Peter pointed to John and asked, “Lord, what about him?” (John 21:21 NIV). Jesus corrected him by saying, “What is that to you? You must follow me” (v. 22 NIV). Instead of comparing yourself with others, work on being conformed to the character qualities of Christ.
(3) Let God determine your worth. As His redeemed child, God sees you clothed in the righteousness of Christ; therefore, you are always loved and accepted by Him (See 2 Corinthians 5:21).
(4) Keep your flaws in perspective. It’s okay to see where you need to improve, but make sure you appreciate your progress.
(5) Discover the true source of confidence. If you place your confidence in God, you can’t help but have a healthy attitude. So, do your best and leave the results to Him.
Soul food: Zech 5-8; Luke 23:1-12; Ps 39; Prov 24:26-28
2024-09-22
Exodus 13:18 NIV
The Bible says, “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the desert road” (vv. 17-18 NIV).
There is a lesson here for you. God knows where you are on your spiritual journey, and He is directing you accordingly, even when it seems like a roundabout way. “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives” (Psalm 37:23 NLT).
The shortest route from Egypt to the promised land was through enemy territory, and God knew His people were not ready for battle. “God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the desert road.” Getting God’s people out of Egypt proved to be the easy part; getting Egypt out of God’s people proved to be the hard part. After forty generations of depending on Pharaoh, they needed to know God, learn His ways, and trust Him. So, He arranged their journey accordingly.
Are you having a wilderness experience at the moment? Be encouraged. The fulfillment of what God promised you may be taking longer than you thought, but it’s not time wasted. And God is not punishing you; He is training you for your destiny. What should you do? (1) Spend time with Him in prayer and His Word. (2) Lean less on yourself and more on God. (3) Draw on His grace and follow His guidance.
Soul food: 1 Kings 17:1-6; 1 Kings 18:16-39; 1 Kings 19:9-18; 2 Kings 2:1-12
